Sep 30 Nashville, TN

Originally I had wanted to get this post up last week once we arrived home, but what I did not anticipate is just how exhausted I would feel when I actually got home. Straight twelve hour drives are no joke, even when you're just a passenger ya'll. BUT! I am back today with a little recap of our brief time spent in Nashville.

Thursday morning we left the apartment at four in the morning. Yes, you read that correctly, four. in. the. morning. And it was terrible, but not as terrible as it could of been since the excitement was practically bubbling over in both of us. We made a few stops for gas and food, but other than that we pretty much drove straight to Memphis where we planned to get ribs. Originally, Chris had done nothing but talk about the amazing ribs he had had as a child at Rendezvous in Memphis so by this time, I was super pumped and excited to stop and eat. But a quick Yelp search dashed our hopes and dreams when we discovered that our arrival time was exactly 2 hours before Rendezvous even opened. Eventually we found a safe haven in Central BBQ and ate more than we should have, which energized us for the long evening ahead.

Upon our arrival in Nashville, we quickly dropped our bags off and freshened up at our friends place on the east side and headed towards downtown for some music and drinks. Through no planning of our own, we actually ended up participating in the Americana Fest that was happening in town since the wristbands were extremely reasonable and most of the shows we were wanting to see were a part of it. And I'm so glad we did this as we saw some amazing shows while there.

Our days were spent wandering around the city with a stop in at the Country Music Hall of Fame being the most notable. Typically the tourist scene doesn't really interest me (case in point: we never even went close to Broadway St.), but a stop here was a must in my books. Country music has played such a big role in my life, that it was almost unreal to see the artifacts acquired in there.

As for the food we consumed, let me tell you it was enough to make us detox on salads for an entire week when we got home. We had breakfast and coffee at the ever photographed Barista Parlor, delicious burgers and fried mac and cheese at Burger Up, a little New Orleans fix at Cochon Butcher and hot chicken at Hattie B's. Ya'll. Hot chicken is no joke. Chris, the man who likes to repeatedly tell the Chinese food place, "extra extra extra spicy" was forever changed after eating his. Of course, that was partly his own doing as he ordered the "damn hot" which was second to last on the hot scale. I however, ordered the medium heat and it was damn delicious. Next time we venture around, I'd love to try out Prince's to compare.

On our way out of town we made an unexpected pit stop outside of Nashville at the Loveless Café for breakfast and homemade biscuits. I snagged a few souvenirs from their gift shop and off we went!

Nashville reminded me so much of Austin, but in the best way possible. Great food, awesome night life and no shortage of hipsters just doing their thing. I'm already daydreaming about returning someday to explore more of the city. But maybe this time I'll bring my own Lone Star Beer as they seem to have a shortage there. ;)